Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta,
who is preparing to retire, extended benefits such as child
care, commissary privileges and transportation to military bases
to same-sex partners of service members.

Other benefits provided for spouses, including health care
and housing allowances, remain barred because the Defense of
Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of gay
marriage, continues to apply to the Defense Department, Panetta
said today in a memo to service chiefs.

Panetta has changed social policy in the military during
his year and a half as defense secretary. Last month, he ordered
an end to the ban on women serving in direct combat roles after
earlier overseeing the lifting of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
policy that prohibited gay service members from disclosing their
sexual orientation.

“The implementation of the repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell’ law has been led effectively by leaders throughout the
chain of command and is now essentially completed,” Panetta
said in his memo. “It is therefore time to address the question
of the benefits we will extend to same-sex domestic partners of
military service members.”

Panetta said certain benefits, such as on-base housing and
burial, will remain prohibited while they are further reviewed
because they “present complex legal and political challenges.”

The new benefits being opened to same-sex partners should
be available by Aug. 31 and no later than Oct. 1, Panetta said.
To qualify, the service member and his or her partner must sign
“a declaration attesting to the existence of their committed
relationship,” Panetta said.